In Your Shoes, in Your Heart
by Mischel
Summary: Merlin's favourite Camelot tradition is the one according to which all servants and their masters switch roles for a day, thus allowing Merlin to have a day off and enjoy all the services that Arthur - his new manservant - is obliged to provide. But this year, Arthur has a plan for Merlin, one that Merlin definitely doesn't expect. - Merthur; first kiss


This fic had been sitting in my WIP folder for months, titled "merlin april fools fic". As you know, it's _not_ April (unless it is for future readers, hello there). I kept forgetting about it, started proofreading it and had to reread it again and again in order to remember what the fic was even about and at this point, I'm just so done with it and glad that it's finally done so here you go

*_inserts the started making it, had a breakdown, bon appetit meme_*

Anyway, I hope some of you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

**IN YOUR SHOES, IN YOUR HEART**

**...**

The warm morning light reached the windows in the prince's chambers and the door opened soon after. It wasn't the manservant who entered, no, it was one of the guards from outside the chambers. It was their job to wake up the prince tonight, not Merlin's.

"Sire," said the knight, gently shaking the prince awake. Another knight opened the window to let the fresh air in. "Sire, it's time to wake. It's morning."

Arthur's eyes slowly opened and he groaned in answer. He looked up at the guards and upon noticing the clear absence of his servant, he closed his eyes again and groaned even louder. "It's today, isn't it."

The knights looked at each other before one of them nodded, "yes, my lord."

The other one smirked.

"Alright, leave me then."

The knights nodded and both left the chambers, closing the door again. Arthur found himself alone in his bed, with no servant to wake him up and no breakfast prepared at the table. He felt almost like a commoner – which was precisely the point.

Arthur hated this tradition. It was the stupidest one of them all! How did it even start? Who was the one who decided that letting servants and their masters switch their positions for one day a year was a good idea? Arthur was the crowned prince, not Merlin's servant, and Merlin was certainly not a lord.

The prince sighed and gazed out of the window. It was sunny outside. The first day of April, of the fourth year that Merlin was his manservant and close friend. He'd seen how much Merlin was looking forward to this day – almost the whole year in fact, since the last time they had to go through this. Well, since _Arthur_ had to go through this, Merlin just enjoyed the whole day with glee in his smile.

Not this year though, no. Arthur had special plans for today . . . _Yes_, he'd have to do everything that the idiot told him to do, but this year Arthur planned to show Merlin that even as a lord, he had responsibilities. It wasn't just lying in bed and ordering others around all day.

Arthur sat up in his bed and instead of getting up and going to the tower to wake Merlin up, he spent the next fifteen minutes just sitting there, thinking, preparing himself for today, and yes, wasting time. That was the point. Merlin never cared to wake Arthur up on time, so why should Arthur bother?

After he'd spent another five minutes in silence, his thoughts wandering places he'd never let them before, he finally stood up, rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was time to go wake up his servant, follow all his orders, and then hope for an early tomorrow.

xoXÖXox

Merlin had been awake long before the sun rose above the hills. It was all the excitement – it had made him wake up too early and he couldn't go back to sleep since. He'd been looking forward to this day for _months_, reminding Arthur that it was going to come and enjoying his face of annoyance every time he mentioned it. He knew the prince wasn't actually seriously annoyed about this, he could stand taking orders for a mere day, but it would not be pleasant for him.

A grin spread across Merlin's face as he turned in the bed and waited for the morning to come. Ever since he came to Camelot, he'd seen many traditions – most of them didn't make sense to him and most of them seemed stupid – but not this one.

Of course, not everyone got to enjoy it – not all masters were willing to let their servants participate. Arthur had refused to let Merlin celebrate this day the first two years that he was his manservant, but Gwen always spent a long time telling him about all the fun she'd had with lady Morgana.

Thankfully, Arthur allowed it this time, even after last year when Merlin had spent the entire day just lying in Arthur's bed, enjoying himself while Arthur was trying to figure out in which closet Merlin kept his socks.

It didn't take long before the first rays of light reached Merlin's window, but it took longer for Arthur to arrive at Merlin's chambers - just like Merlin had expected.

"You're late," Merlin informed the prince once he arrived, with a smile on his face.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'm not sorry," he said. Then he smirked. "And I didn't think waking you up on time was worth it, seeing as you always wake up late anyway."

"Funny how you're always sleeping when I arrive to wake you up late, yet here we are and I'm awake."

Arthur frowned at him. Merlin's grin widened.

"Where's my breakfast?"

Arthur sighed. "I'll go get you breakfas-"

"No, no, not yet," Merlin stopped him. "I want to eat in your chambers and I can't possibly go there in my sleeping clothes. How do you expect I'll dress myself?"

Arthur raised his eyebrow. He looked around to find no changing screen anywhere and only Merlin in the room with a smirk on his face. "You should be able to dress yourself."

"Like you are?"

Arthur pursed his lips in irritation, but then he sighed again and accepted the . . . well, Merlin's _order_. "Where do you keep your clothes?"

Merlin finally got out of the bed. "In that closet over there."

Arthur looked at Merlin, up and down, and then walked to the closet, opening it. There was about two pairs of trousers, several tunics (all red or blue), and a few neckerchiefs. Dressing a servant should be easy enough when there's no armour or expensive boots and belts, right?

"I'd dress in your clothes, like last year," Merlin said. "But I remember they were too big for me." It was true, Merlin could still remember how it felt like to wear them. They were loose on him, but he kept them because he enjoyed Arthur's face when he saw him in his clothes. He was tempted to do it again this year, but he knew Arthur didn't appreciate it, and he didn't want him to be angry with him. Mildly annoyed – yes, but not angry.

It would make the whole day that much harder.

"Uh, the red one today," Merlin told Arthur and pointed at his favourite tunic. Arthur raised his hand to take it from the closet, but then stopped. Merlin watched him carefully as Arthur turned towards him.

"Don't you always pick my clothes?"

Merlin frowned. "Yes, but I want the red one and that's an order." Damn, he really did enjoy saying that.

"But today's tradition isn't about giving orders, it's more about-" Arthur narrowed his eyes as if he was looking for the right word, "-it's more about _opposites_. Letting the lords do what servants do and letting the servants – you – do what lords would do."

Merlin shrugged. "So?"

Arthur smiled at him widely. "So, _I_ pick your clothes."

Oh no. "But-"

"It's the _tradition_, _Mer_lin."

Merlin sighed. Last year it was him who annoyed Arthur with all the clothes business, so maybe he should let Arthur have this one this year. Maybe. Even though it sounded like a _tremendously_ bad idea. Although . . . what _wouldn't_ he do for his prince?

"Alright," Merlin sighed again. "Pick my clothes."

Arthur immediately turned back towards the closet and picked the red tunic, just like Merlin had asked him to, and-

the _red_ neckerchief.

NO.

"Arthur-"

"Merlin." Arthur held up the two items of clothing next to each other in the air, close to Merlin's face to let him see what he chose for him today. They were _exactly _the same shade of red. Logically, when they were from the same damn red cloth.

"And what, do you want me to also wear red trousers today?"

Arthur's face instantly lit up. "Do you have them?"

Merlin frowned at him. "No?"

He could see the disappointment in Arthur's eyes. "Well, then this will have to make do." He put the neckerchief on the bed and handed Merlin the tunic, looking up at him. "Well? Come on."

"Did you forget the part where you have to actually dress me? And also undress me?"

Arthur's cheeks turned red. "Oh, right."

Merlin smiled and stepped closer to Arthur, raising his arms up and then bending over, pointing them towards Arthur. This was a position that Arthur was very familiar with. And soon enough, Merlin felt Arthur's hands take his nightshirt and remove it over his head and then slowly and awkwardly put Merlin's arms through the sleeves of the red tunic. Merlin straightened up and Arthur pulled the tunic down, successfully dressing him in the first piece of clothing.

Trousers were next then. Thankfully though (or not?), Merlin slept in the same trousers he wore outside today – to make Arthur's job easier this morning. He was tempted to keep quiet – Arthur would then have to undress him, and then after finding out he needn't have done that, dress him in the same trousers again. But he wasn't that cruel. Even though he'd rather enjoy it.

So after informing Arthur of this, Merlin turned around and let Arthur tie the neckerchief. Arthur wrapped the piece of cloth around Merlin's neck and then began to tie a knot behind Merlin's head, when Merlin stopped him.

"No, that's not actually- you don't tie it like that."

"What?"

"That's not how I do it," Merlin clarified. The neckerchief was long and if he made the knot on the back of his neck, the rest of the neckerchief would dangle behind him as he walked or it would get trapped uncomfortably under the jacket.

Arthur's hands stopped. "How do you do it then?"

"You wrap it around my neck and tie it under my chin. Then you hide the knot under the front of the neckerchief."

He heard a sigh, and then Arthur grabbed his shoulders and turned him around quickly. They found themselves face to face.

"Like this?" Arthur looked up into his eyes, his cheeks turning red at the sudden proximity.

Merlin nodded.

Arthur raised his eyebrow, probably confused why Merlin cared so much about how he tied his neckerchief but doing as he was told.

Merlin gave him a satisfied smile and Arthur automatically smiled back at him.

"Now bring me my jacket and go fetch my breakfast. We'll eat in your chambers."

Arthur's temporary smile disappeared and he turned away. He found the jacket, threw it at Merlin – "Hey!" – and left the chambers abruptly, leaving Merlin there alone.

xoXÖXox

As soon as Arthur left Merlin's small chamber, the realization of what he was supposed to do dawned on him. He was about to go to the royal kitchen, get a tray full of food and carry it up to his chambers all by himself. If there was anyone who didn't know what he looked like, he might even be mistaken for a simple servant! Well, maybe, if it wasn't for his rich clothes.

He sighed and entered the courtyard, heading for the kitchen. He hoped the tray wouldn't be too heavy, but Merlin always managed to get it up all the stairs, so there was no reason to worry. He was stronger than Merlin anyway.

Arthur found the kitchen and entered, immediately getting lost in all the maids and cooks quickly moving from one place to another, carrying spices, ingredients, or just following other cooks and learning by watching them.

A voice cleared through the chaos. "Prince Arthur?"

Arthur turned to find the owner of the voice and found an older, slightly overweight woman with a ladle in one hand and a white cloth tied around her forehead, hiding most of her hair.

"Yes," Arthur nodded, his eyes still wandering around the place, but his body already turning towards the woman. She must have been the leader down here – the head chef.

She smiled at him and pointed at a prepared tray full of bread, meat, cheese, _two_ apples, _two_ cups and a jug of water. Arthur let out a sigh of relief when he saw the breakfast was already prepared for him. Now he only had to carry it up to his chambers.

"Thanks." He took the tray with both hands and chuckled when he realized it wasn't all that heavy after all.

"For your manservant, sire?" The head chef asked him with a slight smirk on her face. The voices of all the younger cooks around got a bit quieter.

Arthur nodded. "You know what day it is today, I presume."

The woman pursed her lips, but the smirk was still there. "Wouldn't know it, sire. I'm just a cook." She shrugged.

Arthur frowned at that, a bit puzzled, but finally turned around and headed towards the door – only to hear stifled laughter from the room behind him. He looked over his shoulder, but the girls immediately started working again, no smile on their faces.

Were they making fun of him?

Arthur sighed and dismissed the thought. It was just one day of the year, just _one_ day. A few more hours. Besides, taking orders from Merlin wasn't all that bad as he had thought it would be. Well, not when they involved that much work anyway – or undressing Merlin, specifically.

After some time, Arthur finally made it all the way up the stairs to his chambers. Two knights were standing in the hall, close to his door. One of them was Sir Leon. Arthur ignored his smirk and approached the door. Then he encountered a problem.

His both hands were full and the doors were closed.

"Sir Leon," he said. "Could you- argh!" He almost dropped the tray as he struggled to grab the handle while still holding the tray.

"Sire," Leon nodded and stepped towards him, opening the door for him.

Arthur sighed and finally walked inside, carelessly dropping the tray on the table, almost spilling the water from the jug. The door behind him closed, just as Arthur noticed that Merlin was – just like last year – lying in his bed. He looked very pleased and comfortable, which only made Arthur more annoyed.

"_Mer_lin!"

"Is that a proper way to talk to your prince?"

"You're not-" Arthur groaned. "I only said your name."

"Then say it again and listen to your tone." Merlin shook his head and smacked his lips. "I didn't appreciate that tone."

Was Merlin being serious? He couldn't possibly command him to ridicule himself?

"I'm waiting."

Arthur groaned again. "_Mer_lin."

"What did you hear in that word? Tell me, did you hear annoyance?"

Arthur was just about to go there and fight Merlin in the bed when his stomach rumbled.

"Hm, no, I think I hear hunger." Merlin sat up, taking two of Arthur's soft embroidered pillows, putting them on the bed and then lying down on his stomach – resting his chin on them. "You haven't had your breakfast yet, have you?"

Arthur took that as a cue and sat down to the table, taking a piece of bread.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked, standing up.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Merlin, I'm eating."

Merlin didn't reply and went to sit on the opposite side of Arthur. He took another piece of bread and also cheese, taking a bite. "You're lucky I'm a very generous prince… Unlike certain _someone_ I know."

Arthur rolled his eyes but kept eating without saying another word. It was true though. It wasn't often that Merlin had breakfast with him in the chambers. Arthur always assumed Merlin had breakfast with Gaius, but he knew that sometimes that wasn't the case. He did let Merlin eat with him though, when it was obvious he was hungry, he'd never truly want Merlin to suffer. And sometimes – he liked to think it happened rarely but in reality it had been happening quite a lot lately – he let Merlin eat with him just to enjoy his presence. He'd never admit it out loud of course.

And as much as he hated the idea of working like Merlin for a day, Merlin was kind of funny to look at as he tried to imitate him, giving orders left and right. And . . . although he hated being ordered exactly where to go and what to do, when it was Merlin who was giving the orders, it didn't seem too bad after all – unless Merlin was purposely being a pain in the ass.

But that thought aside, Merlin would get a real taste of what being a prince was like today. Only in a few hours, actually. Arthur smirked as he was looking forward to that. Every member of the royal family had to be able to defend themselves after all, and Merlin, now (almost) being the _prince,_ had to a lot of training ahead of him.

xoXÖXox

It felt like breakfast was ages ago, but that was probably only because Arthur has been counting every second until the time for training finally came. For now, he was sitting on the floor with a bucket of water and a sponge with a dry cloth, actually _cleaning_ the floors. Him, the_ prince_, cleaning his own floors. That was unheard of! All while Merlin was lying on the bed, whistling and going through Arthur's clothes for the lack of anything better to do. Whenever Arthur glanced at him, which was more often than he'd admit, Merlin seemed like he was choosing which tunic he'd rather wear than the red one together with the red neckerchief that Arthur had made him wear that morning.

Arthur looked back down on the floor, the dirty wet sponge in his hand. He covered another spot on the ground and grimaced when the water he squeezed out of the sponge back into the bucket was actually brown. However Merlin managed to do this all day was truly beyond him.

Arthur used the cloth to dry off the cold stones on the ground, just like Merlin wanted it and took a deep breath. Just a few more minutes before he had to tell Merlin he was going to be training with the knights. Just a few more minutes.

"Which one do you like the best?" Merlin asked him unexpectedly.

"Huh?"

"Your tunics," Merlin clarified, not looking at Arthur and instead keeping his eyes on all the colours that Arthur could wear.

Arthur raised his eyebrow and stood up, finally being (at least half) done with the floor. He came to the bed where Merlin was now sitting crosslegged, and stood over him as he looked at the tunics.

There was his red one, the blue one, the white one, even the purple one that he didn't wear very often anymore. Coming to think of it, he might have even grown out of it without realizing it.

"I like the red one," Arthur finally answered Merlin's question.

"Yeah, no surprise there," Merlin smirked as he pointed at his own red tunic and red neckerchief. Arthur rolled his eyes. Was Merlin seriously still so mad about it? Or was he just making a big deal out of it for no reason, just because there was nothing to do?

Well, not until now.

"I don't always just lie in the bed, you know?" Arthur told him as he turned around and went to fetch his armour for unsuspecting Merlin. "I've got responsibilities, papers to sign, council meetings to attend-"

"You're forgetting that I'm not actually you," Merlin interrupted him, getting up from the bed and forgetting all about the tunics. "I can't forge your signature, and I can't replace you in the council meetings."

"But," Arthur raised his finger at him as he walked backwards, "there's one thing that a prince needs to do that you _can_ do too, Merlin."

Merlin narrowed his eyes at him and then they widened as he realized exactly towards what Arthur was walking.

"No."

"Yes." Arthur nodded at him with a grin.

"No. That's an order!" Merlin tried desperately to save himself, but it was for nought.

"Merlin, yes." Arthur patted the armour that was now next to him and couldn't stop smiling. "There's no point fighting it, Merlin, I can't miss today's session and the least you can do is replace me there."

"But-"

"No buts, Merlin."

Merlin looked at him all desperately, eyebrows knitted. "But I don't want to."

"But you must." Arthur looked at Merlin meaningfully, letting him know that he wasn't joking this time and that it really was important to at least show up at the training 's shoulders slumped. "Now, come on. I'll need to dress you for the training."

Merlin slowly started moving over to Arthur, his expression clearly saying that he'd been defeated. Arthur walked over to his manservant, took him by the shoulders gently and guided him over to where the armour was.

"Do I have to wear the entire armour?"

Arthur considered that, but he wasn't that cruel. Besides, Merlin would barely be able to walk with half the armour on, and with all of it on his body he'd probably stay on the ground, unable to move. Nevertheless, Arthur looked over at Merlin, making sure Merlin thought that he was still considering it.

Merlin made a pained expression. "Arthur? Come on, please?"

Arthur smiled. "You'll definitely have to wear my chainmail and the belt," he started, pointing at it. Merlin nodded. "Usually that's all it takes for the training, you know that, but I think you'll need to add at least the breastplate. Because this is you we're talking about."

Merlin frowned at him. "I'm not _that _clumsy."

"Merlin, we'll be training with actual weapons."

"Fair enough." Merlin raised his eyebrows. Then he sighed, looking at his the armour. "So . . . this is the part where you have to dress me up again?" He grinned at Arthur, who folded his arms on his chest, nodding.

"Indeed."

Merlin took the heavy chainmail and handed it to Arthur, who then dressed Merlin in it. He chuckled. It looked almost like a dress on him! Come to think of it, Arthur hadn't seen Merlin in actual chainmail in ages. The last time he remembered Merlin wore it was when they went to defend Merlin's village together, and that was a long time ago. Arthur shook his head to stop thinking about what Merlin looked like in his chainmail, and prepared the belt. Then he reached with his hands around Merlin's waist and fastened it in the front, trying not to think about anything in the awkward silence.

"This is so weird," Merlin commented as Arthur reached for the breastplate.

"You've worn chainmail before."

"You remember that?" Merlin asked him, taken aback. "It was such a long time ago."

Arthur blushed. "Of course I remember that. You looked the most ridiculous back then. Just like you do now."

Merlin rolled his eyes, staying quiet as Arthur stepped in front of him again, carefully putting the breastplate around Merlin's neck and fastening it underneath Merlin's left arm. Arthur felt Merlin's breath on his cheek as he chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm just using humour to hide my fear, I guess."

Arthur frowned at that. "You don't have to be scared, it's just training, not actual life or death combat."

"It's still fighting, and I don't know if you noticed, but I don't do a lot of that."

Arthur thought about that. It was true, whenever they were fighting anyone, Arthur was the one with the heavy sword and armour and Merlin was hiding behind some tree. And yet, Arthur still kept dragging Merlin with him on all his adventures, whilst Merlin didn't even have his own armour or chainmail. Yes, he couldn't imagine his life without Merlin anymore and having him by his side was sort of reassuring – Arthur liked him there – but was it worth risking Merlin's safety like that?

He had to clear his throat. "Maybe that should change."

Merlin swallowed audibly. "Excuse me, what?"

"I'm saying that maybe, you should consider training with the knights more often. Even though you're just a servant, you should be able to defend yourself."

Merlin was already shaking his head. "No. No way. No. I _can_ defend myself, you know? I'm perfectly capable of doing that, you just don't know about it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing."

Arthur scoffed and took hold of Merlin's bicep and- well, it wasn't as _thin_ and _weak_ as he thought it would be. To be honest, Arthur was quite surprised.

"What are you doing?"

"Do you exercise in your free time?"

Merlin laughed at that. "What _free_ time? I spend all my time running after you, completing all the chores you give me." He looked at Arthur's hand that was still wrapped around his arm, and Arthur let go, deciding to drop the subject before it turned into anything else.

"Whatever you say, Merlin." He stepped aside and waved his hand. "All done. You're prepared."

Merlin looked down at himself and frowned worriedly. Arthur, on the other hand, smiled – unknowingly. Merlin didn't look half that bad actually. In Arthur's chainmail, with Arthur's belt around his waist . . . he looked like a knight.

Arthur didn't manage to hide his smile before Merlin looked up at him. "You look proud. You're not actually proud, are you? Because _this_ is a disaster."

"No, Merlin," Arthur cleared his throat. "_This_ is what will keep you alive today."

Merlin's eyes filled with fear again, but all Arthur could do was roll his eyes fondly. He put his spare chainmail and belt on while Merlin was still adjusting the belt on his waist, and then he turned towards the door. "Come on. It's time to go."

Yes, he wanted Merlin to know what it was like to train like he always did, to really _taste_ what it was like to be a prince, but at the same time, he wanted to teach Merlin at least a little bit about this. No matter what Merlin said, he needed to know how to defend himself. And Arthur was there to teach him that and to make sure he didn't harm himself by tripping over a mace or something.

xoXÖXox

Soon after, they left the chambers and headed to the training ground together. Merlin kept glancing around, possibly because of how unused he was to wearing chainmail and an actual piece of armour, especially down the stairs, but as they finally reached the knights, he got even more fidgety.

"What's wrong with you?" Arthur asked him. He could practically _hear_ Merlin's knees knocking together.

"It's nothing."

"Merlin?"

Merlin pursed his lips and looked past Arthur at the group of knights, all already skilled and prepared to test all their weapons, probably on Merlin.

"Do I have to fight with them?"

Arthur followed Merlin's gaze and watched his knights as they stretched, lifting heavy weapons and making it look easy, all big and very ready looking – unlike Merlin. No, Merlin was right. He wasn't used to fighting like this and he was definitely not ready to face a knight. His knights wouldn't go easy on him and Merlin couldn't have possibly gained enough knowledge about sword fighting just from being a target this whole time to keep up with them.

No, if Merlin was to learn anything, they'd have to start slowly.

"I'll be your target."

Merlin's face changed within seconds. "Really?"

"What choice do I have? I have to be the target if I still want to have a servant tomorrow."

Merlin smiled at him.

"Well, come on, then." He grabbed Merlin by the shoulder again and started walking towards the knights. "The armoury."

They didn't even make it to the door without hearing the knights giggle at the sight of Merlin. They were all aware of what day it was today and must have put together that Arthur was here to teach Merlin a lesson.

"Sire, what weapon should we start with today?" One of the knights asked him, thankfully he wasn't stifling a laugh like the others.

Arthur looked at Merlin who stopped at the door, observing the situation, and then looked back at the knights and at the weapons already outside. He knew Merlin wasn't a servant today, but he couldn't replace Arthur in leading the knights.

"We'll start with the maces." Arthur decided. Then he pursed his lips again, thinking. Training with Merlin would probably take some time, and if Merlin was actually to learn something, Arthur had to be there for him. He couldn't train the knights today. "Sir Gregor, you'll lead the rest of the training. Make sure you also use your swords."

"Sire," Sir Gregor nodded at him and led the knights away to get the weapons.

Merlin had already disappeared inside the armoury, and when Arthur got there, Merlin was standing by the swords. "No, you'll need a shield more than anything," Arthur told him.

Merlin made a face. "I'm not that helpless, you know."

"With a sword, you are."

Merlin shook his head in disapproval but took a shield instead of the sword anyway. Arthur then handed him a mace and took a shield himself, guiding Merlin back onto the training ground. They found a corner by a tree where there weren't any knights, and immediately, Merlin started complaining.

"Why's the shield so heavy?"

"It can't protect you if it's light, can it? Now, hold it still."

Merlin groaned but took the shield into his both hands, dropping the mace on the ground. Then he made a pose, probably trying to look ready for a blow.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?"

"Merlin, I'm the target today. You'll need the mace, so pick it up."

Merlin groaned again but picked up the mace. "Well, why do I need a shield then, when you don't even have a mace to hit me with?"

"Do you want to get hit with a mace?" Arthur asked him. Merlin opened his mouth, but Arthur continued. "You need to be able to hold both if you want to learn at least _something._ You can't drop the shield every time you pick up the mace when you fight, Merlin."

"I _can_ hold both."

"Prove it then."

Merlin frowned at him and gripped the mace more tightly, getting back into position. It was a ridiculous position, but something was always better than nothing. Arthur prepared his shield as well and nodded at Merlin. "Now try to hit me."

Merlin prepared his mace and took a step closer to Arthur, but as he swung it at him, Arthur successfully blocked him with his shield. Then again, and again.

They trained for some time. Merlin dropped the shield eventually and refused to use it again, saying that he's the prince today and that he could train however he liked. Arthur called him useless for that, and a few seconds after that he suspiciously tripped over nothing and fell on the ground, deserving a laugh from Merlin. But even after that, they kept training, Merlin without a shield.

When Arthur saw how exhausted Merlin looked, he finally let him go and went to check on the knights – Merlin behind him, ready to go the armoury and be done with all the training for today. Thankfully, the knights were more successful with the training and were already using a different weapon.

"Sir Gregor?" Arthur asked. "How is the training going?"

"It's going well, my lord."

"Good." Arthur nodded.

Then, as Merlin passed him and neared the door to the armoury, some of the knights started giggling again. Most of them, including Arthur, didn't look quite as sweaty and exhausted as Merlin did, and it was obvious that they took notice and were now laughing at him.

Merlin stopped at the door as he noticed it too.

"Hey, Merlin?" One of them called. "How was it? Holding up a mace _and_ a shield together?"

Arthur never thought a single comment like that could get him so angry, especially when he saw Merlin's face.

"That's enough." Arthur frowned at his knights as he stepped forward. His raised voice immediately stopped all their laughter and the knights turned to look at him. "How many of you could honestly say that you were perfect the first time you started training?" The knights were silent. "You all know what day it is today. Merlin shouldn't be here training, he should be giving you orders. He's your prince today, so I want you to show him no less respect than you show me." He paused to look all of them in the eyes. "Is that understood?"

They all nodded and mumbled either _sire_ or _my lord_ in unison. "Good. Your next weapon is the axe. And take your time."

With that, Arthur turned away from them, only to see that Merlin was still waiting by the door to the armoury, his eyes not leaving him. There was a slight smile playing at his lips, and it got bigger once Arthur reached him.

When they both entered the armoury, Merlin was the first to speak up. "Thanks."

Arthur merely nodded. Then he added, "most of them are not knights yet, and they're forgetting that they need to have honour to become knights. So some of them are still . . . "

"Prats," Merlin finished for him.

Arthur wasn't sure that was the right word for it.

"Like you are," Merlin added.

"Hey." Arthur looked at him, but Merlin was giving him a warm smile.

"Well, you got a bit better."

"A bit?" Arthur returned the smile.

Merlin grinned. "A tiny bit."

"Alright."

They kept smiling at each other for a moment before Arthur cleared his throat and looked down. "The shield comes over there," he pointed to one of the corners of the armoury.

Merlin scoffed. "I thought you were my servant today," he said. Arthur looked up at him, puzzled. Then Merlin pointed to the same corner with the shields, "so, the shield comes over there," he smiled mischievously.

Wow, the moment of mutual understanding was over, back to Merlin pretending he knew how to give orders. But Arthur chuckled anyway, as he took the shield and brought it back to the other shields in the corner of the room. Then he also put the mace back in its right place, all while Merlin watched him with a satisfied smile on his face.

He still looked exhausted though.

"Time to take the chainmail off," Merlin said.

Arthur frowned at him. "Here?" Usually, Merlin would take Arthur's armour off _here,_ yes, but he undressed his chainmail back in his chambers, so why would Merlin want to remove the chainmail right now-

"You can't seriously expect me to make it back to the chambers when I'm so heavy with the chainmail?" Merlin looked at him with exhaustion and desperation in his eyes. "I'm worried I won't make it even without them."

Arthur laughed.

He remembered exactly how Merlin felt, he felt like that when he first started training. But his father made him walk in the chainmail even before and sometimes after the training so that he'd get used to wearing it. Merlin had no such experience, so no wonder he was exhausted.

"Don't laugh," Merlin frowned at him.

"I'm not laughing."

"You were."

Arthur was still smiling as he approached Merlin and started removing the breastplate. Merlin sat down on the bench in the armoury while Arthur worked, which meant that Arthur had to bend down to reach under Merlin's arm for the leather strap that was holding the breastplate in place.

Merlin pursed his lips. Arthur noticed that only because they were so close to his eyes as he was still bent over. Then Merlin swallowed and Arthur unintentionally followed the movement with his eyes, before stopping at his lips. Merlin parted them. Arthur's fingers stopped working and he didn't even realize it. He felt Merlin's breath on his neck and he closed his eyes and-

"What's taking so long?"

He cleared his throat. Swallowed. "Nothing."

Nothing.

Nothing was going on.

Or was it?

He could swear that Merlin knew the answer.

xoXÖXox

It took some time, but they finally made it to Arthur's chambers and as soon as the doors were closed behind them, Merlin collapsed on the ground – right there, on the cool stone floor that Arthur had washed earlier, and he kept just lying there on his stomach.

"It couldn't have exhausted you that much, Merlin."

Merlin took a breath as he tried to enjoy the moment of stillness. "You don't know me." He mumbled.

He closed his eyes and felt Arthur sit down next to him on the floor. He poked him with a finger.

"Hey."

"You look awful."

Merlin sighed. "I don't remember asking you for your opinion."

He heard Arthur laugh at that.

"It's not funny, I'm genuinely so tired that I could fall asleep right here."

"I won't stop you." Arthur poked him again.

"You should if you care about me at least a little bit. The floor's too hard."

"What if I don't care about you?" Arthur suggested.

Merlin knew that wasn't true. "You do." He told him. He saw it in Arthur's eyes whenever he looked at him, even when he was annoyed most of the time. Arthur was just saying that to joke around and avoid any serious conversation. Typical Arthur. "And even if you didn't, I'd just order you to care about me." He smirked.

"It doesn't work like that," Arthur told him.

"I'm the prince today and I'm saying that's how it works."

Arthur laughed again. "You're terrible at this," he said. "One training session and you can't even move."

"I remember you defending me from the knights earlier, what changed?" Merlin frowned as he turned his head towards Arthur and opened his eyes. He wasn't serious, but he just needed Arthur to keep talking otherwise he might actually fall asleep right then and there.

"They can't insult you, but I can. There's a difference," Arthur explained as if it was obvious and made sense.

"Whatever you say."

"You do look awful though," Arthur reminded him, but there was worry in his voice. Merlin was glad to hear that Arthur did actually care about him. Plus Arthur was being so careful when he was getting him out of the chainmail and the armour! He must have cared about him a great deal . . . maybe even as much as Merlin cared about him. But who knew?

"Well that's easily explained," Merlin answered. "You were the one who chose my clothes for me today, remember?"

Arthur rolled his eyes but chuckled. "You deserved it."

"In that case, I should choose terrible clothes for you every day, don't you think?" Merlin replied and yawned immediately after. "And I need to get changed. I can't keep wearing this shirt, it's ruined after the training."

Arthur got up with a sigh. "So you need a new one."

"I don't want you poking around my room without me there."

"Come with me, then." Arthur looked down at him.

Merlin made a slight effort to turn around so that he was lying on his back now. Then he pursed his lips and blinked up at him. "I can't even get up and you expect me to walk all the way to my room? That's so many flights of stairs that I can't even count it."

Arthur looked around the room, clearly thinking about what to do. Then his eyes landed on the bed. All the tunics that Merlin was admiring earlier were still there, just waiting to be used. Merlin watched Arthur as he went over to the bed and picked a tunic. He held it up in front of Merlin to show him. It was the purple one.

"You can have this one," he told him. "I think I've outgrown it anyway."

Merlin was too tired to do anything but smile at the moment, but he was genuinely touched. This was probably the first time that Arthur had not only considered but had even willingly given him an actual item of his rich clothing. A purple tunic! The colour was expensive, which was why Merlin had never owned a purple tunic before.

"Are you serious?"

Arthur shrugged at him. "Do I have another choice?"

No, probably not, Merlin realized. But as Arthur wasn't actually his servant and was in fact the _real_ prince, he could just as easily refuse and leave Merlin there in the sweaty tunic, and call it the end of the tradition for today. But Arthur didn't do that, he probably didn't even think about it, he just went straight to the tunics on the bed and gave one to Merlin.

Merlin smiled up at him.

"Don't make this a big deal," Arthur warned him, but Merlin couldn't stop smiling.

"Stop talking and start undressing me then." He told him. He was sure he saw Arthur blush at that, and he had to bite down his lip so that he wouldn't laugh. This was a different Arthur than the one who came to wake him up that morning. That Arthur was annoyed and not looking forward to today, but this Arthur right now? He seemed more willing. He was helpful and didn't seem to mind Merlin's orders anymore. Maybe that was because he no longer had to wash the floor or polish his boots. Merlin didn't even send him to muck out the stables which Arthur did to Merlin almost every day. Or maybe the answer was hidden in the way Arthur looked at him when he was undressing him.

Like right now, as Arthur was coming closer to Merlin with the purple tunic in his hands.

"Stand up, Merlin."

Merlin faked a gasp. "Are you giving me an order?"

"Well, how else do you expect me to dress you?"

"You can figure that out, can't you?" Merlin told him. At this point, honestly, he didn't even know what he was doing. All he knew was that he liked the face Arthur was giving him right now and that he planned to keep it there for as long as possible. "I told you, I'm too tired to get up."

"You don't even look that tired anymore."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Should I?"

Merlin shrugged. But Arthur didn't complain and only sighed as he tossed the tunic on the bed and went to stand over Merlin. He reached out his arms for Merlin to hold onto and he waited. Merlin took both of Arthur's hands and with his help sat up, moving closer to the bed so that he could lean his back against it and not fall on the floor again.

"This is as far as I go."

"You're being ridiculous."

"How can I be ridiculous when I'm enjoying it?"

Arthur knelt down next to Merlin and untied his neckerchief. Once Merlin raised his arms, he removed the tunic as well. It only took a second to toss it somewhere in the direction of the laundry basket, but it took longer for Arthur to unfreeze as soon as he came face to face with Merlin's bare chest.

Merlin watched him – watched Arthur's eyes jump up and down between Merlin's chest, neck, lips and eyes. It was amusing to watch, but Merlin was getting a bit cold.

"What is taking so long?" he repeated his question from before when they were in the armoury, and he was almost sure that this time he knew the answer. Because it was obvious, wasn't it? His cheeks turned red as he thought about it, but he didn't try to fight it. He was done fighting.

"Nothing," Arthur said as he closed his mouth and stood up again to get the purple tunic. Once Merlin raised his arms again, Arthur helped him get into it.

Once he was done, he didn't move away. Merlin was now sitting right in front of him, with his back leaning against the bed and with Arthur kneeling in front of him, his hands still on Merlin's waist, holding the tunic.

"I think you and I both know what's going on," Merlin whispered.

"You're being ridiculous, that's what's going on," Arthur answered, but he didn't move away.

"Well, you're often being ridiculous when you give me orders. At least I often think so. The amount of times you have me wash the floors is definitely ridiculous."

Arthur chuckled at that. "My orders are never ridiculous, they are necessary."

"And since it's basically the opposite day, does that mean my orders aren't as ridiculous as you say, but just as necessary?" Merlin asked him, glad that he could still keep the conversation going despite his need to go lie down in the bed.

"No, Merlin, your orders literally don't even make sense," Arthur answered.

"And yet," Merlin smiled as he dared move forward, "you follow them without a question." Then he thought about it. "Well, at least for the better part of today."

"I followed your orders today because of the tradition, but you can't give orders at all. You're just not used to it, you think telling me to do whatever comes to mind is the way to go, but it isn't."

"But that's the way you order me."

Arthur shook his head. "No, it isn't."

Merlin narrowed his eyes at that. Then he looked down at Arthur's lips – did they have to go through this entire _ridiculous_ conversation before they ended up _much_ closer?

"Teach me then." He gave the order.

Arthur caught on. "Order me."

It was obvious at this point what Arthur wanted and what Merlin wanted as well. They were both staring at it for the past few minutes, so why not just do it? Merlin looked up from Arthur's lips into his eyes and smiled.

"Kiss me."

Arthur licked his lips – he didn't look surprised. And then his eyes wandered down to Merlin's lips again. Slowly, he moved his hand up Merlin's waist until he was holding his neck tenderly, and then he finally, _finally_, leaned in, joining their lips in a soft kiss.

Merlin had to admit that for their first kiss, this wasn't half as bad as when he'd first imagined it years ago – he'd thought he'd inevitably mess up somehow, but what they were both doing now felt like it would be magical no matter how much either of them messed up. And the thing was – neither of them did.

Suddenly, Merlin was glad for having such a destiny – as he listened to his quickening heartbeat and felt Arthur's heart beat just as fast – he found himself grateful for having his future entwined with Arthur's.

It might have seemed like a disaster when the dragon first told him – but here and now, with Arthur's lips on his own and his hand in Arthur's hair – it was anything but.

And despite his previous tiredness (which seemed to have been sucked out of him with the kiss), from then until the evening, it had only been kisses and orders. (And according to Arthur, Merlin got much better at giving him orders, which the prince, needless to say, gladly followed.)

And when the day was over and Merlin was no longer a "prince" – he wasn't the only one for whom this tradition was a favourite – it was now one of Arthur's favourites as well, and they started celebrating it together no longer only one day a year.

**THE END**

I'm so relieved that this is finally posted. I hope you liked the fic and thanks for reading! :)


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